


Mind and Heart

by helens78



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom
Genre: Darwin is Alive, Gen, Implied Alex/Armando, Light Angst, Post-Canon, School, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 10:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1741796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/pseuds/helens78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Jean's taking a test in Mr. Muñoz's class, she picks up something from Professor Xavier that makes her want to know what's happening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mind and Heart

Jean sits bolt upright at her desk, so fast she bangs her knee against the underside. She winces and rubs at her knee, and Scott looks over at her, his eyebrows raised high above his sunglasses.

"Are you okay?" he whispers.

"I'm fine." It's not _her_. She looks around, but no one else seems to have noticed. Everyone else is still filling out their tests, like there wasn't a mental bubble of surprise that burst just a few seconds ago.

She finishes her test and goes up to Mr. Muñoz's desk, sliding the sheet over to him. "I'm done," she whispers. "Is it okay if I go early?"

"Is something the matter?" he asks.

She bites her lower lip. "I don't know," she admits. "But I want to see Professor Xavier. If it's okay."

Mr. Muñoz nods at her. "Take care of yourself," he whispers. "Go on ahead."

She picks up her books, waves at Scott, and heads out of the classroom. Maybe she didn't tell the whole truth, but it was close enough. If something's wrong with Professor Xavier, she wants to know what it is.

*

"Jean, come in," says the professor, looking up from his desk. "I was expecting you. I'm sorry if I interrupted your class."

"We were taking a geography class," Jean says, sitting down across from Professor Xavier. "I finished mine before I came."

"Good," Professor Xavier says, with a slight smile. "I promise, Jean, nothing serious is wrong. In fact, nothing's wrong at all." But his mind says, _I hope._

Jean frowns at him. "What's the matter? Tell me! You're not sick, are you?"

Professor Xavier's eyes widen. "Sick-- no, Jean, no, I'm not sick." His smile grows warmer; she can feel it in his mind like a burner on a stove, sending heat out all around. "But thank you very much for asking; that's kind of you."

He's stalling, and what's more, he's starting to _shield_. Jean glares at him. "You don't want to tell me."

"Young lady," Professor Xavier says, straighting his back and squaring his shoulders-- wow, his shields are so strong, she doesn't know how anyone could ever get past them. She looks down at the floor, at the toe of her right shoe. "Just because you've sensed someone's emotional state doesn't mean that they're obligated to explain everything to you. We telepaths walk a fine line between respect for others and nuturing our own abilities. You're on the verge of crossing that line."

"I'm sorry," she mutters. She looks up again, squinting, trying to sense anything through that shield of his. His reproving look tells her that he caught her at it-- and he's not pleased. "I'm _sorry_ ," she says again. "But you never feel like that! Not--" She makes a gesture, waving both hands in the air. "Like _that_."

She's felt him when he's irritated, and felt him when he's downright annoyed. She's felt him when he's sad-- when a student has to leave the school even though he or she didn't want to, for instance-- and the bittersweet feeling he feels whenever someone graduates is something she both loves and dreads. She knows that he isn't always as calm and collected as he shows everyone else, and she knows that sometimes he has a potty mouth-- or a potty mind, she guesses. She bets Scott would wet his pants if he heard Professor Xavier say _fuck_ the way she has.

But this is new. So many feelings, all tangled up in that burst bubble of surprise. She doesn't know what it is, doesn't know why he feels that way. There was dread, but something else. Grown-up feelings that she's pretty sure she shouldn't be listening in on (although it's hard sometimes, with Professors Muñoz and Summers around), for one. And anger! She thinks that's anger, though it's so complicated she isn't even sure about that.

Professor Xavier sighs. "All right. This once, I'll tell you. But in the future, if I tell you something is private--"

"I'll listen!" Jean promises. "What's going on?"

"An old friend of mine is going to be coming to the school. He's found a young mutant who has metallokinetic powers, and he wants her to have a chance to learn to use them here, among others like her."

"We don't have any metallokinetics," Jean frowns.

"But we have a telekinetic." Professor Xavier smiles. "It's not the same, but I think she could make a friend. Don't you?"

"How old is she?"

"The same age you are. Twelve." He arches an eyebrow. He's good at that. Some of the kids practice, sometimes, trying to make one of their eyebrows go up like that, but no one can do it the way Professor Xavier can. "Now. Is that all?"

Jean fidgets for a moment. "Is your friend staying, too?" she asks at last.

Professor Xavier sighs. His shields don't relax, not even a little, but the look on his face is all kinds of complicated, too. Jean wishes she were better at body language-- Professor Xavier enrolled her in a special education class on body language and facial expressions, and it's _hard_! She's used to letting her telepathy do that work, not her eyeballs. They're not nearly as smart as her brain.

"He might," Professor Xavier finally tells her. "I think he'd make an excellent teacher."

"Teaching what?"

"Languages, for one. But more than that. Much more, if he'd just--"

He cuts himself off abruptly, and his shields bang and rattle with reinforcement. Jean leans back despite herself. She's not going to learn anything else, no matter how long she stays here.

"Well. At any rate." Professor Xavier nods at her. "What's your next class today?"

"Chemistry," Jean says.

"Tell Dr. McCoy I said hello, then."

And Jean knows the conversation's over. She nods and hops out of her chair, and as she leaves his office, Professor Xavier turns his chair to face the window.

She doesn't quite catch the look on his face, but something about his posture, the way he's holding his hands... she wonders if that's hope.

She crosses her fingers for him on the way to chemistry, just in case.


End file.
